1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to track-and-field apparatus and more particularly to a device for use in those track-and-field athletic events requiring an accurate marking of the point of take-off such as long and triple jump events.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Track-and field athletics usually include such activities commonly referred to as the long (broad) and triple jump where the object of the event is a jump for distance from a running start. The long jump track normally provided for these events includes a dirt runway and a sand-filled landing area separated by a fixed take-off board, approximately six inches wide.
Typically, the athlete begins a long jump by a momentum-gathering run down the dirt runway towards the take-off board and landing area. The jump itself is made from the take-off board from a point on the board as close as possible to the board edge, adjacent the landing area. The jump terminates at the point in the landing area the athlete first contacts after leaving the take-off board. In the triple jump event the take-off board continues to initiate the first jump (hop), but two more jumps immediately follow, and are contiguous to, the first jump.
According to the rules under which such jumping events are conducted, the distance of a jump is measured from the edge of the take-off board to the point of impact in the landing area. The edge of the take-off board is used for measurement irregardless of where the runner's foot leaves the ground. However, the rules are quite specific on the point that if a runner's foot, when making the jump, steps over the board into the landing area, his jump effort is negated.
Thus, an athlete intent upon making the best jump possible, must concentrate on a take-off point on the take-off board that is close to, but does not overlap, the edge of the take-off board adjacent the landing area. It may be readily recognized by those who have participated in such events that this is not an easy task. For, as with many other competitive activities, the keener the competition, the more important inches and fractions of inches become. An athlete, intent upon not having his jump negated, can lose significant distances by initiating his jump back from the edge of the take-off board from which measurement is taken. Thus the difference between a winning jump and an excellent but losing jump is often determined at the take-off board; and at times can be nothing more than a matter of luck. Moreover, an athlete's performance may be impaired by undue concentration towards achieving the proper take-off point from the take-off board.
Furthermore, training for such track-and-field events as the triple jump, which consists of a series of three connected jumps from one running start, poses problems for the athlete. The first two jumps, of the triple jump series, are made on a hard surface. The athlete has no indication of the distances of his first two jumps unless he is witnessed by one or two observers. A knowledge of the individual jump distances that make up the triple jump is essential to enable the athlete to concentrate on those portions of his jump that will extend his overall jumping distance.
Thus, the prior art take-off board used in such track-and-field events as the long jump and the triple jump, detracts from an athlete's best performance, hinders his training, and tends to award victory to those who are, in part, lucky enough to achieve a non-disqualifying take-off point from the take-off board inches or fractions of inches ahead of their competitors.